


The First Hivemate

by chucklingChemist



Series: Alternian Snapshots [6]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Friendship, Giant Snake, Never let Aisral around fire, Pre-Moirallegiance, it's her lusus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 23:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chucklingChemist/pseuds/chucklingChemist
Summary: Life has a funny way of improving itself in the strangest ways after bringing you down.





	The First Hivemate

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written shortly after Diemen's route, where it discussed how he can't get another home due to the way Alternia's set up. Ended up writing this after talking with ActualSnowLeopard about the whole thing. 
> 
> Takes place shortly after [Fuchsia Princess](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17628494). Aisral is owned by [ActualSnowLeopard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualSnowLeopard)

It was a regular Thursday. Pallia awoke later than she hoped. Not wholly unexpected, after staying up far too late running experiments, but annoying all the same. With a tired groan, she rolled out of her bed, grabbing her glasses off a table and lazily slipping them on. No point dressing past her sleeping clothes if she barely felt awake enough to leave her hive. Especially when there was coffee in her kitchen. Coffee that would assist in rectifying her mistake from the night prior. Showering and a basic breakfast could come afterwards.

Pallia trudged down to her kitchen, clean with disuse, and threw some water in a pink kettle on a low boil. She’d have to get a new one. That one had been a gift from Careen during their–friendship? She wasn’t sure if that was the right word considering the Heiress’ true intentions – but it was a nice kettle, and despite being the highest a midblood could get (she thought), getting a kettle _this_ nice was nigh impossible. She’d stop feeling uncomfortable about it eventually. Probably.

And _that_ whole fallout with the Heiress had been messy, to say the least. Careen sought her out quickly and had been quick to befriend her….and quicker to pair her off with some violetblood friend of hers who only cared about what Pallia had to say when she said nothing to say at all. Once it became clear Careen attached herself to make Pothos look good and to give herself a true “landdweller friend” for progressive points she…well, to say she kept her head during the whole thing is inaccurate at best. Her and Careen’s friendship burned to a crisp that night. Pallia couldn’t say she was torn up about the whole thing when she simultaneously felt free.

Though many of the presents from Careen she did keep. If nothing else, she could sell most of them for a decent chunk of change when she needed it.

The kettle let out a harsh whistle against her ears right as Monty, her overly large serpentine lusus, popped his head into the kitchen. He flickered his tongue out a few times before letting out a loud hiss. She shook her head with a light chuckle. Monty really was the most predictable lusus on Alternia: only thinking about food and sunlight.

“Yeah, yeah I know you’re hungry,” Pallia muttered. She opened the fridge, only for Monty to slither in further, nudging the fridge door closed. “Okay. Or…not.” She frowned. “Whaddya need then, Monty?”

Monty bolted from the room, hissing loudly. Pallia rolled her eyes, shutting the heat off of her water to follow. “I swear, if this is just another setup to assist in your lazy tail to open the door for you I’m going to… I’m going to probably be annoyed!” As she hurriedly walked out of the kitchen and down the stairs, following the brief flash of scaly tail that slid down the spiral staircase. Monty continued down, past the various lab rooms and right to the door leading to the entry room. By the time Pallia found him, he had his face pressed against the door, hissing and flicking his tongue. His body, while not taking up the whole hallway, slithered back and forth violently enough in his failed attempts to barrel down the door he may as well be six feet wide. His body continued to slither in a failed attempt to barrel down the door. This was unusual. She grew accustomed to him staring forlornly at the door like a pet that needs to be let out whenever he wanted to moon bathe. Not to mention if he really needed to go outside, Monty was smart enough to know about the empty elevator shaft that led outside.

“Hey, hey, you’re gonna have to calm down if you want me to get around–” she pressed herself to the cold wall as his tail thrashed around her “–get around you.” That called him down. Or, if it didn’t calm him, he at least stopped struggling long enough for her to get to the door and unlock it. When the door opened, he remained still. No movement. No thrashing. Just flicks of tongue and encouraging glances in the front room.

She sighed. “Okay Monty. I’ll go first. Just to appease you, you picky noodle.” 

She cautiously inched around her lusus and through the open door. It didn’t take long to see why Monty was so worked up: it stood right outside a pair of locked glass doors, looking almost impatient. She rushed past the counter top and straight to the double glass doors where an familiar, charred face stood on the other side. Monty followed, staying behind Pallia as she ran.

On the other side of the doors stood Aisral, friend and companion in both blood color and short stature. Generally seeing Aisral at her doorstep only meant two straight nights of the two of them either working impossibly hard together or doing literally nothing for a night or so, taking long needed breaks from their never ending studies. But those days, Aisral came with bags and notebooks. Not with askew glasses covering a sooty face, shoulder length hair singed at the ends. If nothing else, the distinct aroma of smoke felt normal. And, of course, aside from the ash stains, her clothes were fine.

“Ah. Hello Pallia,” Aisral said amiably. Her voice caused Pallia to shudder, the cordial and unconcerned tone didn’t match her appearance. “You look spiffy tonight.”

Pallia glanced down at herself, immediately shuddering again. Right. She had yet to change her outfit out of her sleepwear, and now stood outside in nothing more than a thin, well worn shirt and sweatpants. “Blame Monty,” she muttered as the snake wrapped around her and succeeded only in making her colder.

“Yes, I’m sure your lusus is completely at fault,” Aisral said suspiciously, gaze falling to the snake before flitting right back up. “Anyway, I come to you for a favor.”

Pallia crossed her arms. “And that would be…?”

“I need a place to stay for a while.” At Pallia’s eyebrow raise, she added, “because I may or may not have caused a slight fire that may or may not have burned most of my hive in the process. Maybe.”

“Wait you did _what_?!” Pallia exclaimed. Monty’s head jerked up as slithered away from the outburst, coiling himself over a few feet away. “You burned down your hive?!”

“Possibly. I said may or may not, did I not?” Aisral snapped. “That leaves more than enough room for error.”

“Coming from the pyromaniac with a _flamethrower_ ,” Pallia noted. “And your clothes are unharmed. Were you testing in your hive? Is your lusus okay?”

Right on cue, a perfectly familiar white crane a little shorter than the both of them landed next to her, looking unharmed. She must have been outside during the whole thing. Aisral didn’t even look over. “She is fine, yes thank you for asking. And thank you for your obvious concern for my safety.”

“You’re _ssss_ tanding in front of me!” she shouted. Her finger tapped harshly on the arm it gripped, increasing in pace with her worry. “Why wouldn’t you be okay? Do you think you aren’t? Do you want me to check your re _ssss_ piration apparatu _ssss_ for _sss_ moke damage or _sss_ omething?” Her regular hiss sounded out of hand in her ears, but Pallia couldn’t bring herself to care too much. She’d reign it back in when this was all over.

Aisral crossed her arms, turning away from Pallia. It didn’t change she clearly saw a smirk begin to form. “Some concern might be appreciated, is all.”

Pallia groaned, releasing her arms to push up her glasses. “I am! I’m ju _ssss_ t a little freaked out i _sss_ all. And _you’re_ impo _sss_ ible” She sighed, letting her body sag. “You didn’t even messsage me. Who knowsss how long you would’ve ssssstood outssside.”

“Yes, well…” Aisral’s voice trailed off. “Afraid those may have burned too. And most of my work. But don’t worry!” Aisral gave Pallia the most manic grin she’d ever seen on the other’s face. “My life’s work isn’t gone yet. I have a sponsor!”

“Careen?” Pallia asked dryly.

Aisral scoffed. “Of course not. Some other fish who likes the color pink far too much for my tastes. But! She gives me interesting ideas and lots of money, so I can work with it.”

Other fish obsessed with pink? That couldn’t be good. As little as Pallia wanted to be involved in the affairs of seadwellers, she especially didn’t want to see turf wars. But someone willing to properly compensate her while giving an ample challenge was, and in this moment Pallia wasn’t going to focus on the bad. “Well…good.” Pallia grinned at Aisral. “We’ll get you a sspace upstairs then. I’ve got plenty of roomss.” She gently took Aisral’s hand, pulling the other tealblood in a loose hug. It took a second, but Aisral returned the hug, covering Pallia’s back in ash. “And uh…ssssorry for blowing up there.”

“Should I–”

“If you thank me I’d be worried,” Pallia said. As the two broke off the hug, she turned away and started shuffling towards her hive. Monty, likely armed with the knowledge that Aisral hadn’t been culled, had slithered off. Pallia figured he just wandered off to his moon rock in the backyard.

Aisral let out a short laugh from behind her. “Oh I wasn’t going to ask that. I need to know your method of payment for me eating your food and stealing your respiteblock.”

“…Don’t burn it down?” She paused, stopping at the doorway to her hive. “Actually no.”

“Do burn it down?” Aisral asked hopefully. More somber, she added, “But that would now put both of us out of a hive and that’s not useful…”

“If you burn down my hive, I will cull you myself.” Pallia shook her head emphatically. “No, no, I have a plan. It’s gonna take a while, but I think we can get your room fireproofed while you work on…whatever your sponsor wants. The technology shouldn’t be too hard. And if you ever get the money to rent a bunch of drones to make a new hive, then you can do that.”

“Oh please darling that ship sailed. The Almighty Heiress hates both of us, not just you.” She flashed Pallia a smirk. “Too bad she cares about that reputation of hers and looking benevolent to do anything, yes?”

Pallia snorted. “Oh yes. Thankfully.” She opened the right side door, allowing Aisral and her lusus to enter. “So I guess until we ever get sick of each other, welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like it, please leave kudos/comments! 
> 
> Also, go ahead and check me out on Twitter (@stormscourge) or Tumblr (chuckling-chemist) for the hot spicy reblogs.


End file.
